COVER STORY

online-only businesses,
which may be operating at
razor–thin or nonexistent
margins. However, despite
the perceived importance
of price in e-commerce,
research by Phillips Pet Food
and Supplies found that cost is far
from the only consideration. In fact,
the company found that growth among SKUs that were discounted online was
no stronger than that experienced by comparable SKUs with well-enforced MAP
or iMAP policies.

“Although some see pricing as the most important online advantage, we simply
didn’t see that in the numbers,” says Mike Lackman, chief digital and marketing

Given that they are up
against e-commerce giants offering
rock-bottom pricing and the
convenience of home delivery, it is
easy to understand why many independent pet
specialty retailers feel like they’re in a fight they
simply cannot win.

Yet, while online shopping threatens to take a
serious bite out of brick-and-mortar stores’ market
share, traditional pet retailers do not have to just
sit back and watch sales slip away. With some
digital strategizing and support from partners in the
industry, pet stores can protect their position as the
No. 1 choice for pet-owning shoppers by stealing a
page out of internet-based retailers’ playbook and
beating them at their own game.

Of course, the reality is that most brick-and-mortar
retailers cannot compete with the prices offered by